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The Mother Of Invention

This is a message from a friend with an idea too good not to share — something very obvious, but it required “an illumined mind.”
Due to a thunderstorm, we lost power for about 5 hours. We were scrambling around in the darkness, looking for matches, candles, flashlights, etc. We looked outside, and noticed our solar lights shining brightly all around our patio. They were beautiful. My wife walked outside, and brought several of the solar lights inside.We stuck the solar light pipes into plastic drink bottles containers and they made the nicest, brightest, safest, lighting you could ever imagine.We put one in the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room, etc. There was plenty of light. There are all types of solar lights available. They look nice and they do not
attract flying bugs.The lights we have fit into the small (20 oz) water bottles. If you need a weight in the plastic bottle to keep them from tipping over, you can put a few of the pretty colorful “flat marbles” that they put in vases. (or use sand, gravel, etc.).

The lights were perfect inside our home. They will burn all night long. The next day, you just take your solar lights back outside and they will instantly recharge and be ready for you to use again any time you need them.

Perfect for power outages.  Environmentally pristine. 

2012 PRESENTS NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPIRITUAL SEEKERS

Audio books bring pleasure and practicality to many lives and circumstances and now you can stake a claim to the first Rosicrucian Fellowship downloadable Audiobook.  If you enjoyed storybook time when you were a child you don’t have to stop being that child.  Listen to an audio book and the soothing sound of the reader’s voice; it’s never too late to enjoy the special benefit of listening.

If you’re a traveller by occupation who drives hundreds of boring, lonely miles, your travelling companions can be both the reader and the writer, the voice in an MP3, reading chapters from the book of a distinguished author; together, they will be speaking to YOU.

Do you suffer from eyestrain or yearn for the old days when you could pick up a book and read tirelessly —  before you became visually handicapped?  Suffer no more.

If the efficiencies of multi-tasking help you to meet the demands of a busy life, increase your knowledge by listening to The Rosicrucian Mysteries while doing mindless household chores.

LibriVox offers free audiobooks in many languages.  Volunteers serve as readers, proof-listeners, technicians, coordinators, and catalogers to give this wonderful gift.  All books are in the public domain.  Their goal is to make all public domain books available as free audio books on the internet.  Download the files and feel pampered; enjoy it all for free!

Rosicrucian Mysteries, “a primer for those interested in the basic philosophy, beliefs, and secrets of the Rosicrucians,” recently became available from LibriVox, and we can hope that the other Heindel books will soon follow.  Click on the link:

http://librivox.org/the-rosicrucian-mysteries-by-max-heindel/

While you are travelling and listening to your free audio-book, there can be no better destination than Mount Ecclesia’s Winter Session of The Rosicrucian Mystery School.  It runs from February 26 to March 4, 2012, in Oceanside, California.  Click on the image, below, to view the full program, titled:

Art, Love & The Soul.

Birth of Venus - Sandro Botticelli

A WORLD HEALTH CONCERN

After my father was diagnosed in 1992 with Creutzfeldt Jacob Disease (CJD) I studied everything that I could find about this disease and learned that it is always fatal, usually within a few months.

Then, I experienced the most ghastly thing that I have ever witnessed, seeing a human being decline into full dementia over a period of weeks and die.

Years passed and I finally, after talking with the mortician, after calling the local public health people, and after talking with a researcher at the University of Wisconsin, put all of my files about this disease away and decided to be optimistic. It was obvious to me that the “system” was turning its back on truth. What could one person do to change the system? After all, the disease was occurring in only 1 per million of population. Things would have to get a lot worse before they would listen to even a bevy of doctors and scientists.

Since then, they have been getting a lot worse, but “they” still do not listen. Do you remember people dying in the United Kingdom from Mad Cow Disease? This happened years later, and Mad Cow Disease became the popular name for CJD in the news.  Yet they did not listen, nor did I listen or take heed.   It seems incredible to me now that I continued to eat meat during these years until, finally, I decided to take my probationer vow in 1998. Even after seeing all of the evidence, the deeply ingrained habits of a carnivore died hard.

This evening, while visiting a website recommended by a friend, I discovered that Dr. Lorraine Day wrote, not only about her cure from breast cancer via natural means, but also about Creutzfeldt Jacob Disease. She believes that neither bacteria, nor viruses, nor prions cause disease, but that lifestyle factors are the cause. Because I believe that many of you will be interested in this information, and in her viewpoints about healing, I am giving you the links to her website:

http://www.drday.com/madcow.htm

www.drday.com

What Heindel said:

Until the connection between the food of man and his nature is understood and the knowledge applied to tame the passions and eradicate ferocity, there can be no lasting peace. Flesh food has fostered human ingenuity of a low order in the past; it has served a purpose in our evolution; but we are now standing on the threshold of a new age when self-sacrifice and service will bring spiritual growth to humanity. The evolution of the mind will bring a wisdom profound beyond our greatest conception, but before it will be safe to entrust us with that wisdom, we must become harmless as doves, for otherwise we should be apt to turn it to such selfish and destructive purposes that it would be an inconceivable menace to our fellow men. To avoid this the vegetarian diet must be adopted.

ER

 

The photographer caught this special moment,

what  a privilege to see.

Reminds me of  Psalm 91:4,

He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings thou shalt trust;

his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

There is absolutely nothing to fear about tomorrow;

for God is already there.

[Forwarded by Alan Gregory]

Veggie Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy    

(Serves 8)   

1 1/2 cups     prepared lentils

1 1/2 cups     carrots, grated (one large or two medium-size)

1 1/2 cups     onion, grated (one medium-size)

1 1/2 cups     water

1 1/2 cups     dry bread crumbs

1 1/2 cups     shredded cheese (Monterey Jack)

2 – 3 cups     finely ground walnuts (6 ozs.)

2                  extra large eggs

1                  tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1                  teaspoon dried thyme

1/2               teaspoon celery seed

1                  teaspoon salt

1/2               teaspoon pepper

1 1/2            tablespoons butter

Cover the lentils with an inch of water and boil for five minutes.  Cool and drain. 

Peel the onion and carrot and cut into 1-inch pieces.  Place in a blender with the water and pulse until the vegetables are finely grated but not liquefied.

Pour the blender contents into a medium bowl and add lentils, bread crumbs, and cheese.

Add the nuts, eggs, and the seasonings and mix well.  Add additional water as needed; it should be the consistency of “mush.”   Pour into a shallow, well-oiled ceramic or pyrex baking dish and dot with pieces of the butter, pressing them into the surface.  Bake at 375° for the first 15 minutes and 350° for an additional 30 to 45 minutes.  Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy.  Use the leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches. 

 

Mashed Potatoes

(Serves 4)

4        medium russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered

1        teaspoon salt

2        tablespoons butter or margarine

½       cup milk or cream

Place the cut-up potatoes in a medium saucepan and add just enough cold water to cover them.  Add half of the salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium; cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

When they are done, reduce the heat to warm, pour off the cooking water and replace the pan of potatoes on the warm burner.  Mash them with a potato masher until they are fluffy.  Add the butter and milk and mash again, until they are of the desired consistency.  Stir in the remaining salt and pepper to taste and serve with vegetarian onion gravy. 

 

 

 

 

Vegetarian Onion Gravy                               
(Serves 4) 

2        tablespoons coconut oil, (or butter, or margarine)
1        medium onion, cut in half top-to-bottom and thinly sliced

1        dash of salt

2 1/2   cups vegetable broth or water
4       tablespoons flour (or 2 tablespoons corn starch)
salt and pepper to taste

 Caramelize the onion slices by sautéing them in the coconut oil with a little salt over medium-high heat until the moisture evaporates and the onions are a rich golden brown and becoming crisp, stirring frequently to prevent burning, usually 15 to 20 minutes.

Reduce the heat and make a roué by stirring in the flour.  Then, gradually add the liquid, briskly stirring the broth until it is thick and bubbly.  Another option is to first add the liquid to the caramelized onions, then stir in corn starch until it simmers and is completely blended and slightly thickened. 

Optional ingredients for color and flavor:

Add 1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms and a clove of garlic, minced, after the onion is browned but before making the roué, sautéing for 1 to 2 minutes. 

This gravy tastes great with only the simplest, common ingredients – caramelized onion and water.  Flour makes fuller-bodied gravy; whereas cornstarch gives more clarity and a lighter sauce.  Coconut oil has a high smoking point, so it is the best choice for caramelizing the onions.  It also gives a pleasant, nutty taste. 

Many vegetarian gravy, soup, and salad products contain autolyzed yeast or yeast extract as does Vegemite or Marmite.  These contain glutamic acid which causes adverse reactions in MSG-sensitive people. 

Glutamic acid naturally occurs in both mushrooms and tomatoes, and to a lesser extent in beans.  When these foods are cooked for extended periods, glutamic acid is freed from the vegetable protein, creating pleasing taste enhancement, but also causing serious health problems for some individuals.  If you suspect that MSG may be causing you problems such as: headaches, stomach problems, depression, asthma, chronic fatigue, hyperactivity, ADD, rosacea, joint pain, restless legs, or sleeplessness, the website, www.msgmyth.com, is a wonderful resource of self-help information.

The Polish Rider - 1655 - Rembrandt van Rijn

When a Spirit steps apart from the multitude and resolves to follow the path that leads upward, then the eyes of all are upon him.

 [From Reader’s Questions, Rays from the Rose Cross, August 1984]

 

            The members of the Fellowship are as a city set upon a hill whose light cannot be hid.  They must attune themselves so that they give forth only a true keynote.  If they respond to anything that is false, they, by that falsity of tone, draw to the Fellowship what is undesirable and untrue.  When they find among their numbers what they recognize as not being the true light, let each inquire of himself what he has done to attract such a condition.  Each will have to plead guilty at the bar of conscience; there is not one who is free from sin.

            One can best keep his vow by every moment keeping an earnest watch on thought, word, and deed – by never allowing anything impure to enter the mind, no hasty word to escape the lips, no dishonorable act to sully the name. 

            It is necessary to understand the constitution of man fully to comprehend the situation.  Man is a three-fold Spirit which has emanated from and is still a part of God.  This is spoken of as the Ego, or God within.  Each aspect of the Spirit has built a body in concrete matter, a reflection of itself.  Naturally one would expect that these lower vehicles would be under control of their higher counterparts, but unfortunately other influences have crept in and estranged the lower from the higher. 

            Now a direct path has been constructed between the spiritual and material parts of man’s constitution.  This path is the mind.  It is still very feeble and not under control, but by degrees it will become more usable.  Our will to do will cause this link of mind to grow stronger.  The light from the Higher Self will lead the lower self by the path of mind if we are true to our vow and follow the injunctions of the Spirit. 

            Let each Student and Probationer realize that he, united with all the others, forms The Rosicrucian Fellowship; that his every thought and action reacts upon the whole.  Each time his love and compassion are stirred, he raises the vibration of the whole.  Each time he is self-seeking, dishonorable, thinks thoughts that pull down instead of building up, he thus causes the whole Fellowship to suffer.  Not only does it suffer by the lowered vibration this caused, but the criticism of the world is directed against the whole body and it is weakened thereby.  We’re all, each moment, either helping the spiritual beings who are behind this wonderful movement, or we are fighting against them. 

            When a Spirit steps apart from the multitude and resolves to follow the path that leads upward, then the eyes of all are upon him.  The Angels rejoice; the evil forces seek to lay a trap hoping perchance he may trip and fall.  Often he will trip, often he may fall, but every time he starts again forward, he helps the whole Fellowship.  The steady striving will show the watchers and the scoffers that there is a power not of Earth helping the earnest Spirit to reach the goal.  Therefore, keep on trying every day “just where you are,” following closely the life of the Christ.

The Ecclesia

A Christmas Prayer

Virgin of the Rose Bower - Stefan Lochner

Gracious, loving and merciful God, on this Christmas Eve, as the light of your Word penetrates our hearts, as we are reminded of the gift of life and faith, as the glories of the heavenly hosts are echoed in our midst, we open ourselves up to your Spirit and give you thanks. We are grateful, Lord Jesus, that your story has become our story, and we celebrate your birth.

Continue, we pray, to instill in us a profound sense of your abiding presence, and help us to take to heart the wonder of your love, that we may walk in your ways and delight in your will.

Help us, oh God, to be the faithful, gracious, loving, giving and forgiving people you would have us be.

Amen.

Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.  Leontyne Price  Click on picture

George Friderik Handel by Balthasar Denner

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